Nuclear Energy: Safe, Clean, and Reliable The benefits and misperceptions of Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy: Safe, Clean, and Reliable

The benefits and misperceptions of Nuclear Energy

2013 SWE Conference

Agenda

• Panelist Introductions

• Exelon Corporation Overview

• Common Misperceptions of Nuclear Energy

– Nuclear energy is bad for the environment.

– Most Americans don’t support nuclear power.

– Nuclear energy is not safe.

– The events at Fukushima prove that Nuclear energy is not safe.

– Americans get most of their yearly radiation dose from nuclear power plants.

– Nuclear waste cannot be safely transported.

– There is no solution for huge amounts of nuclear waste being generated.

– Used nuclear fuel is deadly for 10,000 years.

– Nuclear energy can’t reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

• Additional Benefits

– Reliable Electricity

– Economic Benefits

Nuclear Energy: Safe, Clean, and Reliable 1

Panelist Introductions

Marilyn Kray (moderator), VP Nuclear Project Development

Kennett Square

Elizabeth Haupin, First Line Supervisor Maintenance Scheduler

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station

Lily-An Korbeil, Reactor Engineer

Limerick Nuclear Power Station

Lynn Newton, Manager Maintenance Planning

Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station

Lisa Zurawski, Principal Regulatory Engineer

Byron Nuclear Power Station


Exelon Overview

• Exelon Corporation is the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with approximately $23.5

billion in annual revenues. The Exelon family of companies participates in every stage of the

energy business, from generation to competitive energy sales to transmission to delivery.

• Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon has approximately 26,000 employees and operations and

business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.

• Exelon Generation is the leading competitive power generator in the nation, with owned

generating assets totaling more than 34,700 megawatts. With strong positions in the Midwest,

Mid-Atlantic, and Texas, Exelon is the largest owner and operator of nuclear plants in the United

States and maintains a growing renewable energy development business headquartered in

Baltimore.


• The Constellation business unit provides

energy products and services to

approximately 100,000 business and

public sector customers and approximately

1 million residential customers. Exelon’s

utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to

more than 6.6 million customers in central

Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois (ComEd)

and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO).

Exelon Generation Overview

• Exelon Generation is comprised of two primary business units: Exelon Nuclear and Exelon Power.

– Exelon Nuclear operates the largest nuclear fleet in the United States and the third largest in the

world. Exelon’s 10 power plants and 17 reactors, located in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey,

represent approximately 20% of the U.S. nuclear industry’s power capacity.

– Exelon Power is responsible for managing, operating, and maintaining the company’s fossil (coal, oil,

and natural gas), renewable (landfill gas, wind and solar) and hydroelectic fleet of generating assets.

Exelon Power can provide over 15,000 MW of safe, efficient and environmentally responsible

baseload, intermediate and peak power generation.


• The Exelon Generation portfolio is unique in its

diversity of geography, markets, fuels and

technologies and includes:

– Nation’s largest commercial nuclear fleet,

which ensures dependable low-carbon

baseload (around-the-clock) power supply

– Wide range of company-owned fossil,

hydroelectric and renewable facilities, to

diversify our fuel mix and help meet peak

demand periods

Common Misperceptions of Nuclear Energy

Misperception 1:

Nuclear energy is bad for the

environment.


Environmental Benefits

• Nuclear energy produces 63.3 percent of all U.S. emission free electricity.

• In 2011, nuclear energy facilities prevented 613.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, almost

equal to the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from all U.S. passenger cars.

• Nuclear energy facilities also prevented the emission of 1.41 million short tons of sulfur dioxide and 0.54

million short tons of nitrogen oxide in 2011.

• A nuclear energy facility’s life-cycle carbon emissions are among the lowest of any electricity generation

source at 17 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per gigawatts-hour, comparable to geothermal (15 tons) and

wind (14 tons).

• Protecting the environment extends to safely managing used fuel, protecting water quality, and preserving and

improving habitat for plants and wildlife.

• All U.S. nuclear energy facilities have extensive environmental monitoring programs, which are under the

oversight of the NRC and state regulators.



Misperception 2:

Most Americans don’t

support nuclear power.


Support of Nuclear Energy



Misperception 3:

Nuclear energy is not safe.


Nuclear Energy and Safety


OECD Non-OECD

Energy chain Fatalities Fatalities/TWy Fatalities Fatalities/TWy

Coal 2259 157 18,000 597

Natural gas 1043 85 1000 111

Hydro 14 3 30,000 10,285

Nuclear 0 0 31 48

Summary of severe accidents in energy chains for electricity 1969-2000


Misperception 4:

The events at Fukushima

prove that Nuclear energy is

not safe.


Response to Events at Fukushima

• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2011

• Initiated special, focused inspections

• Verified no safety concerns requiring immediate action

• Made 12 recommendations for enhancements.

• Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) in 2011

• Independently required plant assessments

• The preliminary assessments included protection from seismic and

flooding hazards, an extended loss of power to vital safety systems,

and protection of used fuel in storage at U.S. reactors.

• Nuclear industry proposed to

• Place emergency equipment at diverse locations at each reactor site.

• U.S. plants will be supported by off-site equipment pre-staged at

specific locations.

• Acquired or ordered 300 pieces of backup safety equipment at 104

reactors including diesel generators, pumps and emergency and

response vehicles.

• Enhance the ability of nuclear energy facilities to remain safe even if

there is an extended loss of electric power.

• Develop strategies to mitigate external events beyond the design

envelope for nuclear plants.

• Re-analyze potential flooding and loss of ultimate heat sink scenarios.

• Implement improvements to ensure accessible and reliable hardened

vents for Mark I and Mark II boiling water reactor containments. (Of

America’s 104 reactors, 31 have Mark I or Mark II containments.)

• Improve plants’ ability to monitor water level and temperature in

storage pools for used nuclear fuel during an extended loss of electric

power.

• Assess staff needed to respond to a large-scale natural event at

multiple reactors at a site and to implement strategies contained in

the emergency plan.

• Assess communications and equipment used during an emergency to

ensure that power is maintained during a large-scale natural event.


There have been no deaths or cases of

radiation sickness from the nuclear accident,

but over 100,000 people had to be evacuated

from their homes to ensure this.


Misperception 5:

Americans get most of their

yearly radiation dose from

nuclear power plants.


Radiation Sources


• We are surrounded by naturally occurring radiation.

• Less than 1 / 1000th of the average American’s yearly radiation dose

comes from nuclear power.

• This yearly radiation dose is 100 times less than we get from coal,[1]

200 times less than a cross-country flight, and about the same as

eating 1 banana per year.[2]

1. National Council on Rad Protection and Measurements No. 92 and 95

2. CDR Handbook on Radiation Measurement and Protection


Misperception 6:

Nuclear waste cannot be

safely transported.


Nuclear Waste Transportation

• Radioactive materials have been shipped in this country for more

than 60 years.

• 3 million packages of radioactive materials are shipped each year in

the U.S.

• As when transporting other commodities, vehicles carrying

radioactive materials have been involved in transportation

accidents. However, NO deaths or serious injuries have resulted

from exposure to the radioactive contents of these shipments.[1]

1. U.S. Department of Energy, Transporting Radioactive Materials: Answers to Your Questions, June 1999



Misperception 7:

There is no solution for huge

amounts of nuclear waste

being generated.


Nuclear Waste

• If all the used fuel produced by U.S. nuclear power plants in nearly

50 years were stacked end to end, it would cover a football field to a

depth of less than 10 yards.[1]

• 96% of this “waste” can be recycled.[2]

• Used fuel is currently being safely stored.

• The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the equivalent scientific

advisory panels in every major country support geological disposal

of such wastes as the preferred safe method for their ultimate

disposal.[3]

1. Nuclear Energy Institute: http://nei.org/keyissues/nuclearwastedisposal/storageofusednuclearfuel/

2. K.S. Krane, Introductory Nuclear Physics, John Wiley and Sons, 1988

3. Progress Towards Geologic Disposal of Radioactive Waste: Where do We Stand? Nuclear Energy Agency,

OECD report, 1999 (http://www.nea.fr/rwm/reports/1999/progress.pdf)


http://www.nea.fr/rwm/reports/1999/progress.pdf


Misperception 8:

Used nuclear fuel is deadly

for 10,000 years.


Nuclear Fuel Radioactivity over Time

• Used nuclear fuel can be recycled to make new fuel and other

useful products.[1]

• Most of the waste from this process will require a storage time of

less than 300 years.

1. K.S. Krane, Introductory Nuclear Physics, John Wiley and Sons, 1988



Misperception 9:

Nuclear energy can’t reduce

our dependence on foreign

oil.


Nuclear Energy and Dependence on Foreign Oil

Near-term

• nuclear power can provide electricity for expanded mass-transit and

plug-in hybrid cars.

• Small modular reactors can provide power to islands (e.g. HI, PR,

Nantucket and Guam) currently burning oil to generate electricity.[1]

Longer-term

• Nuclear power can reduce dependence on foreign oil by producing

hydrogen for fuel cells and synthetic liquid fuels.

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration


Other Benefits of Nuclear Energy

Reliable Electricity


Reliable Electricity

• Nuclear energy is a reliable energy source, providing on-demand baseload electricity

24/7. The average nuclear energy facility is on line 90 percent of the time,

generating on-demand electricity around the clock .[1]

• Nuclear energy facilities have the highest average capacity factor among all U.S.

electricity sources. A facility’s “capacity factor” compares its actual energy

production with how much it could produce at full operating power during the year.

This is a crucial measure of reliability and a plant’s online performance, and it varies

substantially by energy source. [1] 1. Nuclear Energy Institute (www.nei.org)


Other Benefits of Nuclear Energy

Economic Benefits


Economic Benefits

• Production costs at nuclear energy facilities in 2011

averaged 2.19 cents per kilowatt-hour, cheaper than coal

(3.23 cents) and natural gas-fueled plants (4.51 cents).

• The average nuclear energy facility pays approximately

$16 million in state and local taxes and $67 million in

federal taxes annually.

• Each nuclear energy facility generates about $470

million annually in sales of goods and services in the

local community.

• Approximately $40 million is spent annually in wages at

each facility.

• Ten license applications are being reviewed by the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission for 16 new reactors.

• Five new nuclear reactors are under construction in three

states: Georgia (Vogtle 3 and 4), South Carolina (V.C.

Summer 2 and 3) and Tennessee (Watts Bar 2).

• Some 19 companies and consortia are studying,

licensing or building more than 30 nuclear power

reactors.


•Up to 21,000 high-paying jobs will be created if

all planned nuclear reactors come on line.

•One reactor creates up to 3,500 jobs at peak

construction.

•A new nuclear energy facility creates 500

permanent jobs per 1,000 megawatts of

electricity generating capacity, compared to 190

jobs for a coal plant, 50 for a wind farm and 50

for a natural gas plant.


Questions

Nuclear Energy: Safe, Clean, and Reliable The benefits and misperceptions of Nuclear Energy

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